Oklahoma Travels to Atlanta For NCAA Tournament Play

The Oklahoma Sooners are hoping that facing teams not in the SEC will result in better outcomes as they head to the Atlanta Regional, headline by No. 2-overall seed Georgia Tech (48-9) — who will play the University of Illinois-Chicago.

OU will face The Citadel (35-24) on Friday at 4 p.m. CT broadcasted on ESPN+. The winner of the Atlanta Regional will face off against the winner of the Lawrence Regional — Big 12 regular season and Tournament champion 15-seed Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri State and Northeastern.

This is the 43rd time the baseball program has reached regional play. Skip Johnson has now led Oklahoma to five-straight regionals, with the 2022 run to the College World Series Championship as the highlight.

How to Watch Oklahoma vs. The Citadel

When: 4 p.m. CT
Where: Atlanta, GA, Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium
Channel: ESPN+

Johnson announced that freshman left-hander Cord Rager will get the nod at the mound to take on the Bulldogs. Rager (8-4) has done well throughout the year considering his youth, throwing out a 5.88 ERA with 67 strikeouts. His last performance was the win over Tennessee in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma Sooners, Cord Rager — Oklahoma pitcher Cord Rager | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

OU is 101-86 all-time in NCAA postseason play, having won two national championships in 1951 and 1994.

The Sooners went 14-16 during conference play, winning four series' against Texas A&M, LSU, Vanderbilt and Missouri — and six wins over RPI top-25 teams. Oklahoma's schedule resulted in the sixth most difficult gauntlet in the country.

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The Citadel went 5-0 in the Southern Conference Tournament, beating Samford for the conference title. The Bulldogs are riding an eight-game winning streak, with their last loss coming on May. 14.

They are as agressive as the Sooners when it comes to putting pressure on opposing defenses with their base running. The Citadel ranks No. 16 nationally in stolen bases with 138.

Deiten LaChance, Oklahoma Sooners — Deiten LaChance celebrates a home run. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Oklahoma will lean on pitching and hope that batters Deiten LaChance and Camden Johnson will continue their consistent hitting from the end of conference play. In the win over Tennessee, LaChance hit three home runs and a triple in the victory.

OU is 6-1 all-time against Georgia Tech and has only played The Citadel once — a victory in 2014 played in Orlando. Oklahoma last defeated the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta in 2017.

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